When the fighting started in her village in Buner, 35-year-old Noor Bibi, her husband Zahirullah and their six children were forced to flee. They left behind their home, their land and their possessions and are now living in the Tara Kai camp in Swabi.
Tara Kai camp used to be a middle school but is now home to more than 600 families. Many walked for hours or days over the mountains with little food or water; in the chaos many families became separated from each other. Noor Bibi has not seen her nine-year-old daughter since she left her village and does not know whether she is alive or dead.
Sudden violence
“It was a normal day when from nowhere I heard helicopters overhead and they started to fire on our village. It was all so sudden that I did not know what to do. My main concern was to ensure that my children were safe. We fled from our house as did our neighbours.
Family separated
“In the chaos I became separated from my nine-year-old daughter Shakira and my husband. Everyone was panicking and running for safety and I did not know where they could be. All I could do was keep my five other children safe. My youngest son Sher Bahadur is only one year old and was so scared by what was happening.
Hurt and homeless
“We left our village and walked for hours. As we were fleeing I got hit by a piece of shell. I started to bleed heavily but there was no way I could get any medical treatment and I had to carry on walking with my children. We had no food and nothing with us except for the clothes we were wearing. Even if there had been time to take some more belongings from our house we would not have been able to carry them.
“We had no idea where we were going. Luckily some kind people took my children and me to this camp. At the camp we managed to get a tent and some food, and I finally received medical treatment for my injury. But I am still in so much pain.
IR aid worker Habib Malik listens to Noor Bibi's story.
“Not having her is more painful than any injury”
“Thankfully once we got to this camp I was reunited with my husband, but my daughter is still missing. I have no idea where she is or even if she is alive. I hope that we find her soon. I can’t wait to see her; not having her around is more painful than any injury I have endured.
“My husband has now gone to take care of his brother who was very badly injured when our village was attacked. His condition is serious and we are all praying that he survives.
“Living in this camp is so difficult. My young son Akram Din is suffering from diarrhoea as the water in the camp is not clean and hygiene conditions are not so good. He is not the only child who is suffering in this way in this camp, many others are too.
Forced to flee again
“My family is originally from Bajaur but when the fighting started there we moved to Buner. We moved hoping that we would be safe but then the fighting started again and we have been forced to move once more. This time was even more painful than the last. We don’t know where all these problems have come from and would never have imagined that we would be forced to live in this way.”